New York punks in the mid 70’s were clearly inspired by their environment. Manhattan was a lost city, bombed out and over run with rats and dirty syringes. Gotham had an unprecedented fiscal crisis in 1975, and two years later chaos ensued after the power went out for 25 hours. While poverty stricken New Yorkers looked over their shoulders to avoid pick pockets, British teens were avoiding the police.

The anti-police riots of 1976 spawned the “sus” law which allowed the cops to search anyone, leading to the violent harassment of punks and immigrants. The economy wasn’t doing well in London– a million jobs were lost in manufacturing plants alone between 1970-1977– at the time the Queen started her silver jubilee tour in ’77 and the country celebrated with street parties, ignoring the sad state of the surroundings. This seriously pissed off the youth, leading to “God Save The Queen,” and t-shirts designed with images of a safety pin through her royal nostril.

The New York Dolls trampy fashions echoed the looks of the ladies of the night that walked the streets of the Bowery. Thrift stores were frequented and more creative types made their own outrageous garb. Shirts were ripped, and safety pins were attached to clothing on both sides of the pond. Malcolm McLaren’sKing’s Road shop provided punks with plaid skirts, leather pants and bondage bracelets. Many of the clothes were designed by his wife Vivenne Westwood.

Growing up in the wild So Cal punk scene formed Amy's aesthetic and broadened her horizons. At the age of 23, she hit NYC nightlife, working at music venues, bartending, and writing about all of her adventures along the way. Amy is currently creative director of an East Village rock & roll club, DJ, and contributor for PKM

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PleaseKillMe.com is the home of Please Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk, and other books & projects by bestselling authors Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. The site encompasses music, art, culture, fashion, poetry and movies - from the 60s through today. THIS IS WHAT'S COOL!

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk – AUTOGRAPHED

We’ve dropped the price of the autographed 20th Anniversary Edition book just in time for the holidays! Signed by Legs & Gillian, order now to receive it before Christmas! There’s no better gift than the number one best-selling Punk book of all time! Alternately praised as shocking, lurid, insolent, funny, rowdy and brilliant, there's a reason this book is a classic... and you can only buy the signed version at PleaseKillMe.com!

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